Photo by CJ Dayrit on Unsplash
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The content challenge
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Where do ideas come from?
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Editorial calendar
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Content idea list
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Industry activity
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Front-line feedback
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Customer success stories
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Repurpose content
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Get in the content ideation habit
Content marketing is a powerful force in today’s marketing and sales funnel.
Whether you’re selling to businesses (B2B) or consumers (B2C), content increasingly drives the customer journey from initial awareness of what you’re offering to your eventual desired action – helping attract interest, educate prospects, nurture relationships, generate leads and stimulate sales.
As the Content Marketing Institute’s (CMI) latest B2B Content Marketing annual report discovered:
- 87% of marketers reported that in the last 12 months content marketing helped them create brand awareness.
- 74% said it helped generate demand/leads.
- 62% said it nurtured subscribers/audiences/leads.
- 52% claimed it grew loyalty with existing clients/customers.
- 49% reported it fostered sales/revenue.
The content challenge
But to get those outcomes, you need a regular flow of interesting, valuable content to fill your content marketing strategy (and yes, you do need a strategy).
Sounds obvious, right. Yet many people/firms are falling down here.
The CMI report found creating content that leads to a desired action by their audience is marketers’ top challenge (cited by 55% of respondents).
Differentiating content (43%) and creating content consistently (42%) are the next biggest problems.
Creating enough content is another major issue.
I see this playing out all the time – businesses publishing sporadic blogs or scattergun LinkedIn posts, interspersed with months of radio silence. No wonder the content struggles to get the company noticed or raise its standing.
Where do ideas come from?
Producing regular content for the different stages in the marketing and sales journey is vital. That takes commitment. But how do you keep up the flow?
The challenge is not just finding time to write. It’s having something to say.
Coming up with a ready stock of ideas will alleviate the head-scratching every time that content deadline comes racing around.
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Editorial calendar
An editorial calendar keeps you/your teams focused on producing a regular content output so you can hit those writing deadlines and publication dates.
A calendar spurs the content creation process by setting out the different topics you want to explore and the materials that need to be produced through the year.
The calendar tracks the steps from idea generation to writing and publication. Putting the plan in black and white makes it real. Now you have something to deliver.
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Content idea list
The easiest way to ensure you’re never short of content ideas is to keep a list. Simple but often overlooked.
Brainstorm possibilities alone and with colleagues.
Content is often used to support specific marketing and sales campaigns. So let the nature of the product/service and the audience they are targeted at stimulate topic ideas.
Imagine you’re selling a new exercise tool. Content pieces could focus on how the tool can be used to strengthen biceps, for triceps, for pecs, for lats. Content could be tailored to women, to men, to different age groups, for people with certain injuries or weak areas.
Add to the idea list as inspiration strikes so you maintain a reserve.
Developing a mix of evergreen topic ideas to intersperse among more timely talking points ensures you always have content themes to explore, while broadening your search profile.
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Industry activity
What new industry research has come out – especially where it’s from a respected source and/or is causing a stir?
In the financial services world, for instance, an annual state-of-the-industry report by a leading consulting firm or market player may offer some headline observations and statistics that can serve as the foundation for a spin-off blog post or white paper.
Your content can investigate what the consultant’s findings mean for the industry and how you can help clients navigate the issue.
Industry conferences are another idea source. Check out the conference agenda. Develop content ideas based on the session discussions. See how you can give them a fresh take, or provide answers to the questions posed.
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Front-line feedback
Front-line sales and client relationship teams are a trove of content ideas. Their conversations/interactions with customers and prospects can reveal what issues are of most interest to your target readers.
Canvass front-line staff to find out:
- The key needs/problems/challenges customers face.
- What common questions customers and prospects ask.
- Their key objections to signing up for your product or service.
- The most popular solutions.
Content pieces addressing these topics will have a ready audience.
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Customer success stories
Client case studies are a powerful form of content and should be an integral part of your marketing mix.
But alongside their value in the sales funnel, they can be an excellent source of content ideas.
The problems a particular client faced, how your product/service addressed them and the lessons learned will resonate with other customers and prospects. Generalise them or look for interesting angles you can develop into new articles, blogs or advice guides.
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Repurpose content
The easiest way to generate new content is to reuse existing pieces in alternative formats.
Got a white paper or podcast? Take a section and turn it into a blog. Turn the blog into a social media post.
Create a video clip from an in-person event. Or an infographic from a webinar segment.
Get in the content ideation habit
Delivering a steady stream of useful content can seem daunting – especially if you’ve committed to frequent posting.
Starting from scratch every time will soon wear you down and eat up your time. So you need some tactics to combat the terror of the blank page.
Try the above to keep up the flow. Once you’re in the content habit you’ll soon find your brain subconsciously looking for ideas. Just make sure to note them down before they slip away.